I heard that bbq a surfperch is tasty. I catch a lot of redtail, stipped, and sometimes pile surfperch. I usually fry them but they have been comin out a little mushy. I've never bbq one before nor do I know how to bbq one. Is there a certain way to bbq them? Do u fillet them still? any suggestions would be helpful.

The meat will still be mushy, probably even more mushy than opposed to frying. If I did it, I would bbq the fish whole, and score the sides and fill them with spices. I'd also stuff the body cavity with rosemary, lemon, and maybe butter. Foil helps it not stick.
I like creole spices or old bay.

Redtails are probably the best eating out of the group you mentioned. They're moving a lot more through the surf, so they're meat is generally less mushy than say, a striped perch, because striped perch generally just chill in kelp forests or on reefs, and thus have more mushy meat._________________CAUTION: Fish at the end of my line are larger than they appear.

The meat will still be mushy, probably even more mushy than opposed to frying. If I did it, I would bbq the fish whole, and score the sides and fill them with spices. I'd also stuff the body cavity with rosemary, lemon, and maybe butter. Foil helps it not stick.
I like creole spices or old bay.

Redtails are probably the best eating out of the group you mentioned. They're moving a lot more through the surf, so they're meat is generally less mushy than say, a striped perch, because striped perch generally just chill in kelp forests or on reefs, and thus have more mushy meat.

Has anyone ever tried slow-cooking perch over low temperature coals? kind of a half-smoke? Seems like the biggest thing I've heard about perch is about unpleasant texture but nobody has said anything about the flavor...

Slow-roasting over coals would give the moisture time to evaporate or drip off without overcooking the flesh so it seems like while the fish would perhaps be a bit chewy you could avoid having it be too mushy..._________________----

*** I'm back in Riverside County now. Anyone around up for some fishing? What about So Cal beaches?

That's a good idea, Scott. That would probably work. Generally, perch have pretty decent flavor, except for maybe striped perch, who often have an iodine flavor to them._________________CAUTION: Fish at the end of my line are larger than they appear.

Can't you just fry them longer/hotter to get them firmer? One thing I've noticed is that the second side being fried often comes out better/crispier/firmer........my model to explain that is the the electric skillet that I use is not at the right temp when I start (even tho setting is correct). However when fish is flipped over, skillet has had x more minutes to get to temp , so is hotter. If I had waited longer to put fish in, first side would have been better.

Can't you just fry them longer/hotter to get them firmer? One thing I've noticed is that the second side being fried often comes out better/crispier/firmer........my model to explain that is the the electric skillet that I use is not at the right temp when I start (even tho setting is correct). However when fish is flipped over, skillet has had x more minutes to get to temp , so is hotter. If I had waited longer to put fish in, first side would have been better.

we have tried the leaving it in longer, but that only results in burning the outside of the fillet, and going hotter is actually counter productive because it cooks the outside faster than the inside so it will be even more mushy on the inside than if you cooked it at a low temp and slowly let it cook all the way through. We dont really flip them because we use a small deep fryer to fry our fish, but I've never used a skillet so maybe I will have to give that a try.

BBQ is great! Like thefrood says, slowly cooking them over coals is a really good way to pull some moisture out of the meat. Season however you like, spray some non-stick cooking spray on the grill, and go for it. While camping at the beach, I'll not even scale perch and just remove the skin+scales once the fish is done.

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we have tried the leaving it in longer, but that only results in burning the outside of the fillet, and going hotter is actually counter productive because it cooks the outside faster than the inside so it will be even more mushy on the inside than if you cooked it at a low temp and slowly let it cook all the way through. We dont really flip them because we use a small deep fryer to fry our fish, but I've never used a skillet so maybe I will have to give that a try.

I've never used a deep fryer but perhaps your idea of trying the skillet is worth a try...just for comparison anyway. Not a cook but I've heard this idea about searing meat to lock in the juices......perhaps the deep fryer does such a good job of locking in the juices so mushy results. This might be a difficult optimization problem......not sufficient to be hot enough, but like the 3 bears story, not too hot or too cold but just right. As I mentioned, I often see the 2 sides phenomenon where the 2nd side is nice & crispy & not too mushy vs the 1st side where the skin is soft and mushier........

I've never used a deep fryer but perhaps your idea of trying the skillet is worth a try...just for comparison anyway. Not a cook but I've heard this idea about searing meat to lock in the juices......perhaps the deep fryer does such a good job of locking in the juices so mushy results. This might be a difficult optimization problem......not sufficient to be hot enough, but like the 3 bears story, not too hot or too cold but just right. As I mentioned, I often see the 2 sides phenomenon where the 2nd side is nice & crispy & not too mushy vs the 1st side where the skin is soft and mushier........

Maybe you'll get a Nobel prize if you solve this universal problem

hahaha. Believe me I'm not a cook either, but my friends are pretty good at cooking so I just eat what they make and give them recopies and different ways to cook things to try out.

I would not mind a nobel prize. hahaha it would look good right next to all of my fishing tackle.

I've recently started frying up breaded clams, and then after i egg/bread them, i throw them in the freezer until they firm up before frying. Ive been meaning to try this same method the next time I get some perch because suprise suprise, I find them mushy too

I've recently started frying up breaded clams, and then after i egg/bread them, i throw them in the freezer until they firm up before frying. Ive been meaning to try this same method the next time I get some perch because suprise suprise, I find them mushy too

I sure will but I almost want to give up on them. Seems like a waste to kill all those surfperch juss to experiment on how to cook them hahahaha, but if it's for the good of the forum then it has to be done hahaha.

...Not a cook but I've heard this idea about searing meat to lock in the juices......

Searing meat does not lock in juices. It just forms a crust and carmelizes the outside to make a steak taste better. Sear high heat, reduce to low heat and finish cooking, then rest for at least five minutes. If you do not let red meat rest, you will have dry, bad steaks every time.